By Danny Coleman
originally published: 07/15/2021

"That's just the name of the band, the last time we existed we were 19 years old and it was just sort of a goofy name. There's no huge meaning; we were walking down the street on Telegraph Avenue and noticing people chattering in our group about this thing and that thing with a Jenny and a second Jenny and a third Jenny; the name just kept coming up so we just sort of thought that was cute but now we're not particularly attached to it, it's just what you call us."

The Jenny Thing is comprised of four members, guitarist Shyam Rao, Ehren Becker on bass, Mike Phillips on drums and guitarist/vocalist Matt Easton. Recently, Easton elaborated on the band's history, their new record and more as they've re-united with a sense of purpose. 

Northern California was where they cut their teeth as young musicians but they came to form as a unit on the Berkeley campus of the University of California where they achieved modest success.

"I'm definitely born and bred Bay Area, as are two of the other guys," said Easton; "Shyam Rao my songwriting partner and the other principal guy came out from Pennsylvania and I met him at Cal." 

Shortly after performing a series of initial live gigs in 1991, they released their debut effort called "Me" which was described as having a "Semi-acoustic sound" and followed that up with "Closer and Closer to Less;" off of which they did some minor touring and even made it through the first round of the television show Star Search.

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The year 1999 saw the release of their third record titled, "Nowhere Near You" and also the demise of the band as their lives took turns and twists in different directions. 

Ah but just as life can get in the way and push one down a different path like a river meandering through a valley; it can also lead to new opportunities. Such was the case with these gentlemen and in 2016 they began the process of a reunion which has now led to the creation of their latest disc; "American Canyon." 

"The key thing was that Sean moved out of New York City to Davis which is just a bit north of the Bay Area; he moved back to Northern California. We started doing  just a little bit of work together sort of organically showing each other demos or finishing each other's songs a little bit but it was actually the song "American Canyon" that just sort of stepped up the quality; it felt like it came out of nowhere and that song kind of threw down the gauntlet. It was like, OK if we're capable of this or if this is showing up in our writing, we need to catch the wave. So, I would say that the band really rallied around the material and in some ways rallied around that one song which inspired us to write better and re-write some of our more recent stuff and connect it into the album which was released on June 18."

The band issued a statement that this album was "Demoed into existence," and when pressed as to why Easton readily explained as well as also divulging some of the recording process which included some antique instrumentation.

"It is a short full-length, it's eight songs. The whole thing was made in house so, it's got a combination of fully re-tracked stuff but also a lot of the writing process made it onto the final record. So, "Demoed into existence," I guess it's the kind of thing with modern recording where sometimes you're not sure exactly what you're doing; meaning what step in the process you're in. So, yeah, a lot of it was written or improvised onto tape and edited; yeah, that's what that means (laughs)." 

"Garage Band is our recording format of choice," he continued. "Just because it's simple and fast and we have some fancy plug-ins that we use with it so it's not purely your off the shelf Garage Band and yeah, we do have a number of old instruments on it. The writing instruments that I'm on the most are this 105-year-old piano that I've got right here and a couple of old guitars from the 50's and 60's but the record is very electronic. There are a few places where the piano shows up and it has been kind of captured in what I call almost a 1980's, super-bright compressed sound. We've kind of got that old and new thing, I do a lot of writing on old instruments but I do also like a lot of aggressive and kind of whacked-out sounds; actually, a lot of the writing was on guitar but the album has very little guitar on it really, especially compared to our old stuff. The reason for that would be space, freshness; sort of trying to have a track that's very drum heavy, very vocal heavy and guitars just eat up a lot of space. You can instantly take up all of the mid-range of a track just by strumming one chord you can eat up all the space; we were very economic with our guitar sounds and the amount that we played." 

Even though pandemic restrictions have eased; the band has a plan and it doesn't necessarily involve touring or a lot of live performances.

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"We've been pretty digital about it, we actually made an appearance on a filmmaking competition around a month ago and we'll probably do another film festival. A lot of where our effort is going at this point is towards film and filmmaking; I have a couple of possibilities to score films that I'm pursuing. There's online kind of streaming performances; we did a submission for NPR's "Tiny Desk" and we submitted our thing which was pretty cool and it's on our YouTube channel. It's an electronic duo format but I think it is very human and has a lot of emotion to it and I think it's pretty cool. We also have a video out; we are pretty much on the virtual thing here. We will definitely play locally at some point but it won't be a concerted effort. We have a really nice video for the song "American Canyon" which was actually shot in the Mojave Desert and it came out a few weeks ago. It is very beautiful; it has a woman on a horse and a man in a truck and a dog and the band; it's very cinematic and landscaped and it's pretty cool." 

To discover more about The Jenny Thing, please go to www.thejennything.com. 

That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!

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This week's event listings

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Arts Council of Princeton     
102 Witherspoon Street Princeton     
(609) 924-8777   
Fri. 6 p.m. "Summer Nights" Concert Series feat. "*0's DJ Dance Party" w/ DJ Darius the 1st. (Takes place at Princeton Shopping Center 301 North Harrison Street) 

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Bristol Riverside Theater
2501 Bath Road Bristol, PA
(215) 785-0100
Fri. 8 p.m. "Totally Awesome 80's" 

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Broken Goblet Brewing   
2500 State Road Bensalem, PA   
(267) 812-5653   
Thurs. 7 p.m. Mike Estabrook 
Fri. 8:30 p.m. Mike Oregano
Sat. 8:30 p.m. "First Saturdays" w/ Bridge Beat Duo  "Goblet Stock 7" feat. (3 p.m.) Super Unknown Acoustic (Soundgarden Tribute) (4:15 p.m.) Unglued (Stone Temple Pilots Tribute) (5:30 p.m.) Flannel (Grunge Tribute) (6:45 p.m.) Love Killed Kurt (Nirvana Tribute) (8:15 p.m.) Rage Against The Keg Washing Machine 
Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo
All Shows 21+

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Brother's Pizza
871 Highway 33 Hamilton
(609) 586-2727
Wed. 5:30 p.m. Tiltin Catz

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Candlelight Lounge     
24 Passaic Street Trenton     
(609) 695-9612     
Thurs. 6 p.m. Thursday Night Blues Jam Hosted by The Mojo Gypsies. $5 (Includes hot buffet) 

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Championship Bar   
931 Chambers street Trenton   
(609) 396-5457  
Tuesday 8 p.m. "Jam Night" Hosted by Nikki & Caleb   
Ages 21+

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Clubhouse at Mountain View
 (The Patio)
850 Bear Tavern Road Ewing  
(609) 771-0400  
Fri. 6 p.m. Ernie White

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COARadio.com     
125 South Main Street Hightstown     
(609) 241-7103
Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Dave Vargo

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Cooper's Riverview 
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton 
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. (7 p.m.) Plush (9 p.m.) Club Night feat. Rotating DJs (inside event)
Fri. (5 p.m.) "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Happy Hour" (8 p.m.) WitzEnd
Sat. 7 p.m. Stevie B / Freestyle
Sun. 11 a.m. " Sunday Latin Jazz Brunch" 
Mon. 7 p.m. "Sunny Monday Blues Jam" 
Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ Karen and Mark
Wed. (12 p.m.) "Wine Down Wednesdays" (8 p.m.) "Micro Wrestling" 
All Events Ages 21+

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Cream Ridge Winery   
145 Route 539 Cream Ridge   
(609) 259-9797 
Sat. 1:30 p.m. Ronnie Brandt
Sun. 1:30 p.m. Alex English

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Dacey's Pub 
215 West Philadelphia Avenue Morrisville, PA 
(215) 295-4838 
Fri. 6 p.m. Acoustic Music Night 
Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo 

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Dadz Bar and Grill
744 Main Street Lumberton
(609)267-4344
Sat. 6 p.m. The Jersey Beat

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Dempster's Pub
437 Pine Street Mount Holly
(609) 261-0500
Thurs. 9 p.m. "Throwback Thursday/Ladies Night" w/ DJ entertainment feat. retro 70's, 80's and 90's music.
Fri. / Sat. 9 p.m. DJ entertainment

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Dog & Bull Brew House     
810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.     
(215) 788-2855     
Fri. 4 p.m. Mike Brill
Sat. 4 p.m. Eddie

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Eddington House Bensalem
2813 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA
(215) 639-1220
Fri. 8 p.m. The Fight Back Home
Sat. 8 p.m. Jenny Leigh & Brian Loftus

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Escape Resort, Restaurant & Bar
120 Pheasant Run Road Newtown, PA
(215) 968-0600
Fri. 6 p.m. The Good People

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German American Society   
215 Uncle Pete's Road Hamilton   
(609) 585-5200   
Fri. 6 p.m. Tindall Road Brewing Co. Year "2" Anniversary Party

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Greenhouse  
90 South Main Street New Hope, PA  
(215) 693-1657  
Thurs. 8 p.m. "Musicians Night Out" Hosted by Lovelight 
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Sam Ryan
Wed. 8 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Dwayne Dunlevy

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Grover's Mill Coffee House
    
Princeton-Hightstown Road Princeton Junction     
(609) 716-8771     
Sat. 11 a.m. Thomas Johnston

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Harvest Seasonal Grill (Newtown Shopping Center)
2865 South Eagle Road Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8469
Thurs. 7 p.m. Brian Elliot

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Havana New Hope 

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105 S. Main Street New Hope, PA.     
(215) 862-9897    
Thurs. 7 p.m. Funk n' Blues Jam
Fri. 8 p.m. Billy Walton Band
Sun. (5 p.m.) Jenny Grace (6 p.m.) A Tribute To Steely Dan w/ "Countdown To Ecstacy"
Mon. 9 p.m. "Lipstick Mondays Drag Show" 

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Herrentown Woods (Veblen House)
624 Snowden Lane Princeton
Thurs. 7 p.m. "Among Trees" A Live Celebration of Nature & Community feat. Fiona Tyndall

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HG New Hope Pizza
6510 Lower York Road New Hope, PA
(215) 862-1740
Sat. 6 p.m. Stranger Things

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Hopewell Valley Vineyards     
46 Yard Avenue Pennington     
(609) 737-4465     
Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. (5:30 p.m.) Deb & Mike  
Sat. (1 p.m.) The Strange Brew Crew (5:30 p.m.) "Music & Merlot" feat. Two For Flinching
Sun. 1:30 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. The Blue Jersey Band

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Irish Rover Station House  
1033 South Bellevue Avenue Langhorne, PA 
(215) 970-5412
Sat. 2 p.m. Luau Party 

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Iron Plow Vineyards     
26750 Mount Pleasant Road Columbus     
(732) 306-9111  
Fri. 7 p.m. Bob O & Kim
Sat. 6:30 p.m. Radio Fiction
Sun. 2 p.m. Gary Ryan

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Ivy Tavern     
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton     
(609) 888-1435     
Thurs. 9:30 p.m. "Thursday Night Dance Party" 
Fri. 8 p.m. Kevin Toft & The Alternators
Sat. 8 p.m. Asylum Choir
All shows 21+     

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John & Peter's     
96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa     
(215) 862-5981    
Sat. 3 p.m. Timi Hendrixx and Friends 
Wed. 9 p.m. The Invitational     
All shows 21+

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Killarney's Publick House     
1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton    
(609) 586-1166    
Thurs. 5 p.m. Radio Fiction  

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KUO Social
2360 Route 33 Suite 106 Robbinsville
(609) 208-9988
Sun. 5 p.m. The Williamsboy

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Laurita Winery     
85 Archertown Road New Egypt     
(609) 752-0200   
Thurs. 7 p.m. "Laurita Idol 2021" Semi-finals 
Fri. (12 p.m.) "Wine In The Grove Friday" (6 p.m.)BBQ Grill Night (7:30 p.m.) "Kricket Comedy" Hosted by James Mac feat. Katherine Williams, Troy Moore. Doors open at 7 p.m., $25 (Tickets available online only)  
Sat. "Food Truck Fair" feat. (11 a.m.) Pennington Station (2:45 p.m.) The Shore Syde Band (6:15 p.m.) Fast Forward 80s. (VIP available $300)
Sun. "Food Truck Fair" feat. (11 a.m.) The Rangers Nouveau (3:15 p.m.) Fish Eyed Blues (VIP available $300)

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Lawrenceville Main Street
17 Phillips Avenue Lawrenceville
(609) 219-9300
Thurs. 6 p.m. "Music In The Park" feat. RGM Project (Weeden Park FREE admission)

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Locust Hall at Johnson's Farm 
2691 Monmouth Road Jobstown
(609) 723-2630 
Sat. 6 p.m. Paul Plumeri Duo

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Makefield Highlands Golf Club
1418 Woodside Road Yardley, PA
(215) 321-7000
Fri. 5 p.m. Zone Duo

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Marie's Kozy Korner
111 Trenton Road Fairless Hills, PA
(215) 943-3131
Fri. 7 p.m. Bill Monach

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McGuinn's Place     
1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence     
(609) 392-0599    
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke      
Ages 21+     

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McStews Irish Sports Pub     
5316 New Falls Road Levittown, PA     
(215) 949-9570     
Sat. 9 p.m. The Fredz. 
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night

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Mercer County Park Festival Grounds
Hughes Drive/Old Trenton Road West Windsor   
(609) 448-1947 
Wed. 7:30 p.m. Movie Night: "Wonder Woman 1984" Doors open at 6 p.m. (FREE event)

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Millhill Basement     
300 S. Broad Street Trenton     
(609) 989-1600     
Fri. 9 p.m. N0$P, Joy On Fire, Ugli, Under 95, Alpha Sub. $5

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More Than Q 
13 Klines Court Lambertville 
(609) 773-0072
Sun. 11 a.m. Gospel/Blues Open Mic

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Music Mountain Theater
1483 Route 179 Lambertville
(609)397-3337
Fri. 8 p.m. "Head Over Heels" 
Sat./Sun. 3 p.m. "Head Over Heels" 

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Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company
909 Ray Avenue Croydon, PA
(215) 458-7081
Thurs. 7 p.m. Quizzo w/ Lunch Money

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New Egypt Flea Market Village
933 Monmouth County Road Cream Ridge
(609) 758-2082
Sat. 10 a.m. "RockaBilly Day" 
Sun. 11:30 a.m. Sheri Lynn at "Tye Dye Amy's"

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New Hope Solebury High School
184 West Bridge Street New Hope, PA
Sat. 7 p.m.  Bill & Fred's Excellent Adventure (FREE event)

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New Hope Winery    
6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA   
(215) 794-2331   
Thurs. 7 p.m. "Bucks Fever" Talent Show. $20 (VIP reception 6 p.m. $35)
Sat. 8 p.m. "Kick" The INXS Experience 

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Newtown Brewing Company
103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8609 
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. 80's Trivia Night
Fri. 6 p.m. Mike Mele
Wed. 7 p.m. "Peace & Pints" Yoga

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Nick's Roast Beef
4501 Woodhaven Road West Philadelphia, PA
(215) 637-5151
Thurs. 6 p.m. Ryan Sab
Fri. 6 p.m. Secret Service Band
Sat. 6 p.m. Sir Rod
Sun. 4 p.m. AJ Slick
Wed. 7 p.m. LeCompt Acoustic Duo

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NJWeedman's Joint
322 East State Street Trenton
(609) 437-0898
Wed. 7:45 p.m. Late Night "Hump" Comedy Variety Show

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Odd Logic Brewing Co.
500 Bristol Pike, Bristol, PA
Thurs. 6 p.m. Trivia

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O'Fowley's Tavern & Grill
200 State Road Croydon, PA
(215) 785-6998
Fri. 8 p.m. DJ Entertainment

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Old Hights Brewing
123 West Ward Street Hightstown
(609) 469-5976
Thurs. 7 p.m. Trivia 

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Old Town Pub     
135 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown     
(609) 291-9232    
Thurs. 7 p.m. Quizzoholics Trivia   

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Palmer Square
40 Nassau Street Princeton
Thurs. 4 p.m."Locals Night" w/ Live "Strolling" Musician 
Sat.12 p.m. Burne Holiday

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Pasquale's Sports Bar
9078 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(267) 202-6268
Fri. 5 p.m. Happy Hour feat. (TBA)
Sat. 8 p.m. DJ or Live Band Entertainment 
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Quizzo
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic

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Patriots Crossing     
1339 River Road Titusville     
(609) 737-2780    
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night
Wed. 7 p.m. "Quizzo"   

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Restart The Arts
340 High Street Burlington
Sat.12 p.m. Rees w/ Dan Farnan

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Revere Restaurant
802 River Road Ewing
(609) 882-6365
Wed. 7 p.m. David Boyd

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Robbinsville Community Concert
Town Center Lake Drive Gazebo, Robbinsville
Tues. 7 p.m. BD Lenz

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Rosedale Mills
101 Route 31 North Pennington
(609) 737-2008
Sat. 1 p.m. Outdoor Line Dancing. $10 (Rain date Sundays 12 p.m.)

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Sherman Theater/Penn Community Bank Amphitheater
2400 Byberry Road Bensalem, PA
Wed. 7 p.m. Joey and the The T-Birds. (Doors open at 5:30 p.m., tickets available online)

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Small World Coffee     
14 Witherspoon Street Princeton     
(609) 924-4377 x2   
Thurs. 8 p.m. "The Fluid Acrylics of Adriana Groza" (Runs 7 days a week thru 8/3)

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Sparky World-Famous Beer Garden
4333 New Falls Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-2321
Wed. 8 p.m.  Groove Train w/ Johnny D

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Stars & Stripes Harley Davidson
600 South Flowers Mill Road Langhorne, PA
(215) 752-9400
Thurs. 5 p.m. :Back To The 80's" Bike Night. (Music, food and more)
Sun. 11 a.m. "Grand Opening" w/ Deep Release

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1675 Spirits
2685 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA
(215) 645-1445
Fri. 6 p.m. John Brennan Blues Duo

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Tavern On The Lake      
101 Main Street Hightstown     
(609) 426-9345     
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke

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Temperance House     
5 South State Street Newtown, PA     
(215) 944-8050     
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney

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Terhune Orchards  
330 Cold Soil Road Princeton  
(609) 924-2310  
Fri. 4 p.m. "Sips & Sounds Friday" feat. Brian Botnick

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TGI Fridays   
319 US Highway 130 North East Windsor
(609) 490-1450
Thurs. 7 p.m. Joshua VanNess

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The Buck Hotel
1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA
(215) 396-2002
Thurs. 7 p.m. Kevin Kirko
Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk
Sat. 9 p.m. Blend

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The Cool Cricket     
216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro     
(609) 291-9110     
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke  

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The Dubliner   
34 North Main Street New Hope, PA   
(215) 693-1816  
Sun. 2 p.m. David Falcone

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The Morrisville Tavern
376 West Trenton Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-5310
Mon. 7 p.m. "Country Night" 

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The Sycamore Grill     
255 North Sycamore Street Newtown, PA     
(215) 908-6326     
Fri. 8 p.m. Kickbax Acoustic Trio

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Tir Na Nog     
1324 Hamilton Avenue Trenton     
(609) 392-2554   
Sat. 9 p.m. Jerry Monk
All Shows 21+   

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Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)     
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.     
(215) 862-8300     
Thurs. 8 p.m. Trivia    
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Stage 
All shows 21+ 

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Vault Tap Room
19 West College Avenue Yardley, PA
(267) 907-8550
Fri. 7 p.m. Jon Savage Acoustic Duo
Sat. 7 p.m. Dr. Jeff Mellow Acoustic

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Water's Edge Gastropub and Lounge
1067 Totem Road Bensalem, PA
(267) 332-2095
Thurs. 7 p.m. Cornhole "Blind Draw." $10 
Sun. 12 p.m.  Drag Brunch
Wed.7 p.m. Drag Bingo & Karaoke

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Working Dog Winery     
610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown     
(609) 371-6000 
Sat. 1 p.m. Bob & Dave
Sun. 1 p.m. Kevin McGowan

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WWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio
MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor
Jazzon2.org
Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues" 

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Yankee Doodle Tap Room
10 Palmer Square Princeton
(609) 921-7500
Thurs. 6 p.m. Dueling Piano Night (Palmer Square)
 

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Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled 'Rock On Radio' airing Sunday evenings at 7:00pm EST on ThePenguinRocks.com where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.

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